BANGLADESH’S military chief said today that an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus would be sworn in on Thursday night as he returns from Paris after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and flee the country.

General Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a televised address late Wednesday afternoon that those responsible for the violence since Ms Hasina’s resignation would be brought to justice.

The military chief, flanked by the chiefs of navy and air force, said that he spoke to Mr Yunus and would receive him at the airport on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Yunis said: “I’m looking forward to going back home and seeing what’s happening there, and how we can organise ourselves to get out of the trouble that we are in.”

Asked when elections would be held, he put his hand up as if to indicate it was too early to say. “I’ll go and talk to them. I’m just fresh in this whole area.”

Earlier today, ailing opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia urged all not to follow the path of destruction in Bangladesh as she addressed her supporters from a hospital bed at a rally in Dhaka. It was her first public speech since 2018, when she was convicted of corruption charges and jailed.

“No destruction, no anger and no revenge, we need love and peace to rebuild our country,” she said using a video link.

“This victory brings us a new possibility to come back from the debris of plunder, corruption and ill-politics. We need to reform this country as a prosperous one.”